Winter Weather

The aim of the winter weather research at RAMMB is to apply satellite data to better understand the atmosphere during the cold season, the behavior of which is dominated by midlatitude cyclones. The spatial and temporal gradients in clouds, water vapor, and ozone are related to the kinematics and dynamics of the storm system, and can be viewed using various channels on both geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites. Polar-orbiting satellites can also carry microwave instruments, which provide vertical profiles of temperature, even through clouds. The research, then, seeks to find the links between the satellite imagery and the structure of midlatitude cyclones, and to use that information to better forecast their movement and the weather associated with them.